Years ago… at a secluded home in the Frontier.
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It was a warm summer day.
The sun was shining its bright rays onto the deep, green forest below. A herd of deer was slowly roaming, the young ones grazed with the elders keeping watch. Crows cawed while rabbits hopped to and fro. These animals were peacefully living while they were protected by the numerous branches above providing a cool shade from the sweltering heat. Only the birds soaring above were not as fortunate, but slowly trailing behind on the horizon was a wave of white clouds ready to swallow the sun.
Resting beneath a tower of a tree was a young boy no older than 12 years old. He was a skinny, blond thing that paired with an average height made him seem frail. Wearing a simple pair of a light blue shirt and brown shorts, the boy was content with spending the nice day in peace and quiet.
Fate, unfortunately, had different plans.
"Jaune!"
A young girl's cry sounds throughout the forest, disturbing the boy's rest. Stubbornly, the boy curls up and attempts to ignore the annoyance. He prayed that she would leave if enough time passed.
"JAUNE!" The girl screams. "I know you're here, I can smell how much of a chicken you are!"
The boy, Jaune, is on his feet before he knows it, unwilling to let the insult go. "No way! Dad says that you can't smell stuff like that." He shouts back.
She quickly turns toward his voice and meets his eyes. With a triumphant smirk in place, she walks toward him.
"Hah. I found you." She simply responds.
He groans. He can't believe he let his little sister outsmart him like that. That's all she'll be talking about for the rest of the day. With any chance of further sleep being impossible, Jaune waits to see for his sister to tell him what she wants this time. He has a sinking feeling he knows what it is from what she's carrying.
A wooden sword is thrown at his feet. "Spar with me." She ordered, not asked, but ordered him.
Jaune looked at his sister, then the sword, and then at her again.
"..."
"..."
"Don't want to." Was what he finally said before turning around and walking away. Maybe he could catch up on some of his comics in his room.
"Huh?!" Clearly, she hadn't been expecting Jaune to simply just ignore her. She hurriedly marched past him and blocked his path armed with her childish glare, crossed arms, and a practice sword in hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Going home to read something since somebody decided to be a bother." He made sure to squint at her extra hard just so she would get the message.
As usual, his sister did as she wanted and ignored his dirty look. "But I found you today." She said as if that explained everything.
"Okay… And?"
"And that means that I won, so you, the loser, have to listen to me." She made sure to strongly poke him in the chest like that made it all valid.
"What is with you making everything a contest? I mean, you do it almost every day! Don't you get tired of this?" He complained. "Besides, I'm the older one, so you should be listening to me." He poked her too, but in the belly. Childish? Maybe. Just a little bit.
She squirmed away while scoffing at his claim, "By only a minute."
"Well, we're twins, so what do you expect? One of us had to be born first and Dad says that it was me, so I win." Boom, game over. Rarely did Jaune have a way with words, but right then and there was when he had it.
Too bad his sister was better. "He also says that he will stick to his diet, and little chance of that ever happening." She drawled. She wasn't wrong, their father was a pretty big eater. Weird how neither of them was the same. "Since you apparently have all the answers, did Dad also tell you why we don't look anything alike?"
"Yeah actually! He said it's because we're fraternal twins, so it's normal to not look the same." Jaune smugly replied.
Jaune also wasn't sure if he believed his dad. After all, he and his sister looked like complete opposites. Where he had short blond hair, she had long black. While he preferred wearing blue, she was always with something red. Instead of his cold blue eyes, she had burning gold. The only thing they shared was their light, pale skin. His dad said it was all okay when he brought it up, and Jaune had never met another pair of twins, so he could only believe him.
Clearly, his sister didn't feel happy with his answer since she pouted. Not that she would ever admit to doing something so cute. "Who cares about any of that, anyway? The fact is that I found you, so you have to spar with me. End of story."
Jaune sighed. "Fine, but why bother? We both know I'll win like always."
Those were the wrong words to say. She scowled and got set up into her favorite stance. It was just an honest question. Every time she got her way, they would fight, he would win, and then she'd storm off. It was like clockwork. He hoped that there was still some cake to cheer his sister up later.
Unfortunately for her right now, Jaune still wasn't really in the mood for a fight. Sometimes, Jaune would get that craving, so he would upset his sister on purpose in order to start a spar. Dad would get mad whenever he'd do this, always saying that he had to be responsible, had to be mature. Be the bigger person because he was the eldest. It wasn't fair. This time, he tried to walk away, he could check if there was cake in the fridge and let his hot-headed sister cool off in the meantime. A win-win! What happened instead was the little pest dashing right at him with a straight thrust. He, in a rush, grabbed the weapon on the ground and quickly blocked it using the base of the practice sword. She kept trying to push the tip in as if she could pierce through with pure strength alone.
"Hey." He spat out, annoyance filling his voice. "I said I don't want to do this today. Quit it." He pushed the back of the wooden sword to force her back a little. If he hadn't done something, then she might've broken another sword. Again. And then Dad would've scolded both of them even if Jaune hadn't done anything. Again. He was getting a little mad now. Especially, since his twin didn't look like she was letting this go.
"I heard you the first time." She heatedly replied. "Just be quiet and fight!" Oh hell, why was she such a brat?! "Or are you scared of finally losing against a girl? Well, are you, big brother?" The boy clenched his hands tightly. His sister knew exactly how to get on his nerves.
Jaune stepped back and moved into his basic stance. His feet spread apart with the blade kept low in a relaxed grip. It didn't feel right to him, but it was the best one he knew that worked. As always, he would give his sister the first move. Likewise, she would charge in from the front without fail. When he blocked her frontal strike with no effort, she snarled and swung again at his flank. He parried it to the side easily.
She worked with it to spin and swung onto his other side, but when he moved to parry it yet again, she feinted to thrust into his open center. No way was he letting her have this. Since she was overcommitting to the blow, that left him an opening to use. He sidestepped to the right faster than she could react and slashed her back. They fought till the first clean hit, so that meant this was his victory.
"There I win again. Happy now?" He hoped this was the end of it.
Nope. A surprise kick to the junk was his answer. He avoided it just barely. No surprise considering his sister was a sore loser. He'll have to beat her even harder. She could take it. She was a big girl.
She tried to sweep his legs, but he jumped back. She ran after him and swung wildly after him, but he just kept moving out of the way and letting her hit the air. Seeing that he wasn't taking the bait, she growled and switched to safe stabs that he simply deflected.
Not yet. Just a little more before he could finish it.
After another minute of her attacks not working did his sister's temper finally break. She gave up and jumped to tackle him, but that was the opening he had been waiting for.
Moving twice as fast as before, he dashed towards her. He swung his sword into her stomach from below and forced all the air out of her body. Gravity and his momentum worked together to deal the heavy blow. He could feel his sister bend over the wooden blade thanks to it. She dropped her weapon and collapsed onto the ground while gasping for air. When she looked up, all she saw was the tip of his blade in front of her eyes.
"It's over."
He dropped the piece of wood and extended a hand. She slapped it away and stood up on her own. Anger and frustration were overflowing from her. Without a word, she turned and walked home.
Wait. Now that his head has calmed down, the extent of what he did washes over the boy like ice water. What had he been doing? Guilt welling up inside him, he called out to her.
"Cinder, wait…"
She stopped and slowly turned her head to show a single golden eye. It was a blank stare that didn't reveal anything about what his twin was thinking or feeling. Neither said anything for a few seconds. Jaune for trying to find his words while Cinder was waiting for him to continue.
"You did well today… That feint almost got me this time. I know you'll be able to win one soon." He said awkwardly.
Cinder turned her back towards him again. "I don't need your pity nor your empty words." She clenched her hands and stomped off. "One day, I'll be strong enough to crush you, just you wait."
Seeing his sister sulk away left Jaune pulling at his hair. All he had wanted was some peace and quiet. Now, he's wondering what he should do. He was never any good with saying the right words at the right time. That was always Cinder's thing. Always the daddy's girl. Always able to get her way. Maybe his dad will be able to help? It was worth a shot. His dad always helped him before, it's not like anything could make this worse.
That was the last thought he had before a jagged bone blade painfully went straight through him from behind.
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Jaune opened his eyes with a gasp and immediately reached for the sword at his waist. He frantically moved his eyes left and right and analyzed his surroundings. With a pounding heart, all he saw around were carefree young adults. Laughing, smiling, and without a care in the world. All of them were wearing colorful outfits and were armed, but he realized that they posed no danger to him.
Only once did he acknowledge that fact did he relax. All the tension flowed out from him, allowing him to sag and slouch into his seat. He took some deep breaths to soothe his rattled body. That's right, he's on the airship to Beacon. These were all students training to become the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Only once had he remembered that fact did he let go of his ironclad grip on the sword's handle. Meanwhile, he was going just to get the details for his next job. A big one from what he'd been told, but had to be discussed in person. It appeared that he relaxed too much and dozed off. He looked down at his torso and felt the phantom pain of a blade running straight through his body.
What an irritating dream.
It was best to forget and ignore it. That day wasn't something he'd like to recall even if it had been almost ten years since then, but he couldn't choose what his dreams were. Since sleeping was no longer an option, then he'd have to pass the time in silence and boredom until he reached Beacon.
"Um, excuse me, but are you okay?"
That had been his plan until Jaune looked up and was met with a small, young girl clothed in red and black. She carried, what he assumed was her weapon, on her back and a look of concern on her face. He guessed she had a cute look going for her with the frilly corset, red cape, and all; it reminded him of what Cinder had been like so long ago. What stood out the most was that she had silver eyes. How strange…
"Hey. Uh. Hi, h-how's it going?"
Taking a look deeper into the girl's eyes, he found that they reminded him of his sister's. They shined bright like a jewel and shimmered with unknown power. Well. Unknown to most that is. He was well aware of laid dormant. Faintly, he could feel a quiet hum that was resonating with him. Her eyes still had that innocent glow to them, one that held hope and faith in justice always winning over evil. Hah. He remembered when he was young enough to think the same, but that was a long time ago.
"Uhhh. Ergh. Um. D-Do you mind just backing up a little?"
Now that he was up close, Jaune could tell that some other things weren't adding up. This girl was young. Too young. She looked as if she should've still been in a combat prep school rather than a Huntsman academy like Beacon. Either this girl was some kind of genius or she had some friends in high places. Doubtful considering the amount of anxiety rolling off in waves from her. Jaune wondered what was making her so nervous.
"Yaaang. Best sister in the world that I love very much. Can you helpmeouthereplease?"
"Hey pal, do you mind giving my sister some space?" That's all Jaune heard before he was roughly shoved back.
Stepping between him and the silver-eyed girl was a tall blond. She wore a brown and yellow outfit that left not much to the imagination. He saw no visible weapon on her, but he could see mecha shift mechanisms in her bracelets, so that's what he would bet his money on. The blond was toned as well with her arms and legs both holding strong muscles. She was some kind of martial artist, is what he figured, but he'll have to see for himself what kind to find out if she was anything special.
Wait a minute. Sister? That's what she said, right? Jaune looked back and forth between them a few times. Yeah, they didn't look anything alike. Were they like him then?
"Sisters? You two wouldn't happen to be fraternal twins by any chance?"
She raised an eyebrow when she heard his question. "Uh, no. Not sure where you got that idea." The blond stayed in front of her sister. She had a cocky grin with her arms crossed, but he could see the concern in her stance. Had he done something?
"Thought I was looking into a mirror for a second." He mumbled before clearing his throat. "Sorry if I'm causing some trouble here. I'm Jaune, by the way. Short, sweet, and the ladies love it." He said with a friendly grin.
They both snorted. Ouch. Way to give a guy the old one-two to his fragile self-esteem.
Little Red decided to speak up for the first time at the worst time. "Do they really?"
Jaune sighed.
"No."
"Yeah, I can see why if that's what you open with." Tall Blond had a smile so wide that he was sure the corners of her mouth could touch. "Well. You don't seem like a bad guy. So, I guess we're square. The name's Yang. Aaaand this is my baby sister, Ruby!" In a split second, she had somehow grabbed said sister, and was now lifting her in the air by her armpits as if she was some kind of beloved trophy.
It seemed Ruby had the same idea since her face turned crimson and she started protesting. "Wha?! Yaaaang. Come on. Put me down! I'm not a doll!" Unfortunately, all her struggling and protesting fell on deaf ears.
"Hey, lighten up! You used to love it when I did this."
"When I was eight!"
"That's what? Like a week ago."
"Arrrgh. You suck." She pouted. It was then that she had enough because suddenly the girl turned into a cloud of rose petals that then turned back into a teenage girl. Aura was weird.
It was then that the P.A. system played out over the bullhead's speakers. "We have arrived at our destination. Thank you for your patronage, and welcome to your stop: Beacon Academy."
The aircraft just afterward came to a halt. A second later is when the doors opened, revealing the sparking, shining majesty that was Vale's Huntsman Academy. Jaune personally found it gaudy and over dramatic, but hey, that was just his opinion.
Jaune swiftly moved past the pair's comedy act and out onto the ramp. He stepped onto the stone walkway that would take him to his next paycheck. Finally, dinner was now within his grasp. Jaune took a few minutes to admire the scenery, mainly so he could distract himself from his current financial woes. Did he mean to go over budget because he wanted to buy a limited-edition issue of X-Ray and Vav? No, but once he saw it on his scroll, Jaune knew he had to have it.
Moving past his regrets of not looking at the price tag, Jaune walks toward the giant waste of taxpayer money. Or he would have if he didn't hear the sound of an explosion nearby.
Jaune's hand was already on his sword's hilt before he could even think to do so. Years of fighting had already made it second nature. A weak instinct and complacency lead one into an early grave, especially for those in his profession.
Seeing nothing happening and the lack of alarms or alerts let him ease the small tension in his body. That's right, he was in a school. A Huntsman Academy no less. That meant he didn't need to jump at everything that seemed unusual. He was too paranoid for his own good sometimes. He walked towards where he heard the impact. With nothing to be wary of, Jaune let his curiosity guide him. That's when he saw a familiar face.
Little Red. Lying in a crater. Looking like a kicked puppy. It hasn't even been ten minutes since he had last seen her. Well, he might as well give her a hand.
It's what his dad would have wanted.
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Great.
This was turning into a pretty lousy start to her Huntress career.
Just a few days ago, she had been bursting with excitement. She was going to skip ahead early and go to Beacon! The Beacon Academy! Even better, Yang was going to be there with her! It was always her dream to be like her mom and go there! How could she not be overjoyed at Headmaster Ozpin giving her this absolutely one-in-a-lifetime opportunity?!
That lasted until she actually got on the airship. That's when the butterflies started filling her stomach. And the cold feet. And the anxiety. And everything else in the world that made Ruby start to think that maybe skipping ahead two years wasn't such a good idea.
What if she wasn't good enough? What if they didn't take her seriously because of her age? What if the teachers were really scary? What if nobody liked Crescent Rose? What if they told her she couldn't wear her hood?!
As she had been freaking out on the inside, she saw an older guy also looking really scared on a side seat. She didn't mean he looked as old as her dad; he was closer to Yang's age. He was looking pretty bad. His eyes were bloodshot, and his knuckle was pure white with how hard his grip was on the seat, and that wasn't including the deep breaths he was taking to calm down. This guy was way worse than she was! He might be a senior at Beacon. Was this what was going to be her future?!
Moving past her fear and since it was a Huntress' duty to help people, she thought it would have been a great idea to help him out, but all he'd done was stare at her, and then start to slowly invade her personal space. She wasn't going to lie, he was kind of making her more freaked out than she already had been. She may have, just may have, called for her big sister to save her, but if anybody asked, then she would deny, deny, and deny it all.
Well, the guy became better after all that, and he didn't seem so bad, he had that goofy line after all. Plus, he apologized! But then when Yang started messing with her for the zillionth time, the guy just disappeared! Poof! Thin air! Then her sister ditched her not even a minute after leaving the airship.
That's when she suddenly got pulled into an explosive disaster with a crabby princess (oops, she meant heiress) with fire, ice, and smoke flying everywhere. Now she was stuck here in a crater. Maybe she could stay here. The crater was comfortable. The crater was safe. The crater wouldn't ever abandon her.
As Ruby Rose was contemplating becoming one with the rubble. She saw a gloved hand reach out into her snug, little hole in the ground.
"Hey, uh, Ruby right? Let's get you out of there."
Ruby listened to the helpful voice and grabbed his hand. Now that she was back in the scary world outside her hole in the ground, she decided to see who it was that was attached to the nice hand.
Looking down, she noticed he was wearing dark brown, worn boots. They were very used, but she noticed the boots were made with very high quality. There was no discoloration or rips and tears. They weren't the only thing well made. He had black pants that looked tailored to his long legs. He was wearing a skin-tight black athletic shirt with some kind of hard, dark blue vest over it. It reminded her very vaguely of a chest plate, but it looked too weak to serve as protection. The part that caught her eye the most was his trenchcoat. It was so cool! It was royal blue with some sharp designs in silver on the front and sleeves of the coat.
Looking at his outfit made Ruby realize that this was premium Huntsman gear she was looking at and that the price had more zeros than Ruby had feet. Cursing her short height, seriously she drank milk, Ruby looked at the money man in the face and instantly recognized him.
"You're the creepy ladies guy!" She blurted out. Oops, she hadn't meant to say that out loud. Or to say it that way, the memories kind of blurred together at once, and her mouth just messed up saying what she really meant. Maybe he'll think she was joking?
"Really." He deadpanned. Nope. Crud. "That's how you remember me. You're gonna give people the wrong idea." He shook his head before turning around. "Anyways, I'm glad to see you're alright, so I will see you later."
"Wait. Wait. Wait." She rushed in front of him. "I've already made one negative friend, I can't make another."
"What's a negative friend? Isn't that just an enemy?"
Ruby pretended like she didn't hear him. "I'm sorry I said that about you. I'm sure you don't creepily stare into the eyes of every girl that tries to help you and then get uncomfortably close to them."
"Wait, I do wha-"
Ruby pushed through. "I just want us to start over, you know. Let bygones be bygones. I-If that's alright with you, I mean. I just want us to get along since I am going to be joining you here at Beacon and all." She gave a weak and unconfident grin, hoping that the bundle of nerves plaguing her entire being wasn't showing. It was bad enough that she stuttered.
"Alright."
"Really?!"
"Yeah." They kind of just stood around for a minute. Neither of them said anything. It felt kind of awkward. "You said we're starting over, so shouldn't you introduce yourself?" He raised an inquisitive shoulder and hand.
"O-Oh right." She felt like hitting herself. How could Ruby forget something so obvious? "Hi, my name is Ruby Rose. I'm going to be a first year here at Beacon, and this is my baby!" She then swung and presented her pride and joy. The one and only Crescent Rose! It was her personal project that she worked endlessly on back in Signal Academy. She put a lot of work into making her scythe the best Grimm killing machine it could be. Ruby couldn't help it, she just loved weapons.
It looked like he was the same. He put a lot of interest in looking at Crescent Rose. His eyes looked over every detail he could see. Ruby wanted to squeal. Finally! Finally, there was somebody else who cared about weapons as much as she did!
"Nice. Interesting scythe you have, but uhh…" His face turned a little sheepish as he asked, "Do you always pull out your weapon when you meet somebody?"
Her eyes went wide. She pointedly looked anywhere, but straight at him. "Umm, nooo?" She weakly answered. Please believe her. She wasn't technically lying. She hadn't done it the last few times ever since her dad had told her to stop.
"Hmm." He tilted his head. Then, he shrugged as if he got over it. "Okay."
Phew. Ruby wiped the metaphorical sweat off her metaphorical forehead. Why was social interaction so haaaard? Ruby could never understand how easy it came to her older sister.
"Like I said earlier, my name is Jaune." He said with a casual, friendly grin. "I'm a pro Huntsman visiting Beacon. For my weapon, I use this." Then he lifted and showed off what he was hiding.
Ruby had stars in her eyes. "Woah…" Now, that was a katana! It was gorgeous with the white cloth wrapped around the hilt, an intricately detailed, golden guard that led to a gray blade that looked so sharp that it could cut steel apart. With it was a wooden black scabbard, but she noticed that his weapon didn't have any mecha shift mechanisms anywhere. That was weird.
After gushing over the awesome katana for some time, weapons were just so cool, she felt a nagging feeling in the back of her head. Like she somehow had missed something big. She mentally went back over what he'd said. Like an anvil falling from the sky, the realization hit her hard. "Wait, Huntsman? L-Like an actual one for real?!" The shock and disbelief exploded out of her.
He winced back, probably from how loud she was, before answering. Oops. "Yeah?"
"But you can't be that much older than Yang!" She protested.
"Your sister is, let's say, eighteen?"
"Seventeen!"
"Okay. Seventeen. Then, I'm only four years older than her." He explained matter of factly. "Plus, I only just got my license with the solo exam last year. It's really not that big a deal." He shrugged it off. Shrugged.
Not a big deal?! Did he not realize what he was saying?! There was a reason why it was normal for everyone to go to an academy for four years. It taught you everything you needed to know from fighting Grimm to crisis relief. Sure, you could take the solo exam if you were confident, but it was intentionally made extremely hard to pass to discourage people from actually taking it. Ruby could count the people on two hands that did it, and only on one hand were the people that passed!
Not only did you have to fight multiple Elder class Grimm within a time limit while protecting terrified civilians. There was the agonizing written and practical test that was determined by the proctors' preferences, so you couldn't study anything specific! You basically had to know literally everything to be ready. Before all that, you still need a Grade A Huntsman to vouch for you to even take the examination in the first place!
This wasn't even including the fact that he did it when he was only twenty years old. That wasn't the record for the youngest ever, but it was still incredible. Most graduate from an academy when they're in their early twenties. Just the fact he passed it means that he's already twice as good as recent alumni. Did Ruby just accidentally encounter a celebrity or something?! Oh crud! Now Ruby felt embarrassed and self-conscious. She called him creepy too!
While Ruby was undergoing the biggest internal meltdown of her life, she suddenly was pulled out of her depressing spiral of insanity by his hand slowly waving in her face.
"Hello? Are you alright? You went a little quiet and zoned out there."
Ruby, bright red as a tomato, panicked as all the anxiety and nervousness she had been desperately holding back exploded out of her. She did the best thing she could. Run away and don't look back! She used her Semblance and left the area so fast that she left a gust of rose petals in her wake.
As Ruby was speeding towards the academy from embarrassment, wishing that the earth would swallow her whole, all she thought in her head was that she wished she never left her safe, little crater.
.
.
"What did you say?!"
After helping Ruby, Jaune had moved on towards to the academy where he headed towards Beacon Tower for his meeting. The receptionist inside confirmed his appointment and let him up to the top floor, but politely informed him that the headmaster was out currently for the new year's Initiation. Jaune hadn't minded. He came early after all, so a little waiting wasn't any trouble. He passed the time by spinning a small blade of Aura around his finger. Once he heard the elevator ding, he crushed the conjuration in his hand. Looked like it was time for work.
Headmaster Ozpin walked through his office, cane and steaming mug in hand. He apologized for keeping him waiting before they exchanged polite greetings. When Ozpin was seated at his desk, they got right to discussing the job. Truthfully Jaune was very curious, his clients were usually more on the high-end side. Always private. Always high risk, but also always a big payout. Only recently did Jaune get his license just to do more public and by-the-book work.
The point was, it was pretty strange for Beacon to scout him for something when they should know him as a newcomer in the profession. It was only when the headmaster explained it all did Jaune begin to put the pieces together. And then, he expressed his shock with a shout once he heard it all.
He took a sip from his mug before calmly continuing. "I will explain it again. I need you to kill a powerful Demon that's been sighted-"
Jaune cut him off. "No. I got that part. It's the other thing you said." That was all Jaune had thought this would be. Hunting a strong Demon that appeared. That was usually the kind of missions he performed. Other than the under-the-table ones he conducted.
The headmaster simply raised an eyebrow. The nerve of him. "That I want you to be an instructor here at my school?" He said it so easily like he was telling time.
"Yes!" Jaune practically shouted. "That. Why? What would I even teach?" He gave, what he thought, was a pretty fair and valid question.
Another sip. "Devil Studies." Again. Said so simply. Like it wasn't something that would blow his mind.
"And this is sounding worse the more I hear it!" Jaune was now getting more and more reasonably upset. "Demons are a highly classified need to know. The average Huntsman, let alone citizen, doesn't know they exist." For good reason, in comparison to Grimm, Demons were extremely more fearsome with abilities that would traumatize any normal person if they just even knew of their existence. "And you want me to teach fourth ye—"
The shoe was on the other foot as Ozpin cut in this time. "First years, these new first years, actually." He said bemusedly.
Jaune forced down the urge to behead the man. "No. I refuse. None of this sounds like a good idea. What on Remnant is making you consider this?"
Ozpin's face grew serious. There was no humor to be found in his expression. "Jaune, if I may be frank, there is a frightening reason. A very frightening one at that." He paused. "Demons are appearing more frequently and not just weak ones. Devils thought to have been killed or disappeared for decades are now resurfacing all of sudden." He said it all with grave seriousness. His eyes betrayed no lies. "We need more fighters, fresh fighters who can better prepare and have more time to develop, in order to deal with this rising threat. The goal is to graduate a full year of new, promising Devil Hunters."
Jaune still wasn't convinced. "That still doesn't explain why you want me. Get Qrow Branwen or Peter Port to do it. They're more experienced than I am." Both had been in the field for a long time and were more than likely well acquainted with their existence. Jaune, while having known about Demons for a decade, had not fought them for half as long. What could he teach children almost as old as him?
"That may be true, but they are not the Son of Salem," Ozpin revealed.
"…"
The temperature in the room dropped considerably. All pretenses or moods of peace, friendliness, or politeness evaporated instantly. With a single statement, Jaune became furious. He was holding himself back considerably. Instead of exploding, he forcefully schooled his expression. The young Devil Hunter never hid his identity, but he also never shared it either, so it said something that the senile fool knew his origins. Jaune stared silently with cold contempt and rage. His next action depended entirely on what Ozpin said next.
He slowly and calmly stood up from his desk, demonstrating that he meant no harm. "I believe that this increase in activity is no mere coincidence or fluke. I believe that something or someone is causing this." Ozpin spoke with firm conviction. His words unintentionally sent a flash of images to Jaune's head. A clash of blades. Two identical amulets meeting. A shockwave of demonic power releasing and spreading throughout the land. He grimaced at the memory. "As one with a strong connection to Demons in your blood, I want you to investigate along with teaching of course."
After a few minutes of silent contemplation, did the blonde hunter speak. "…I have a few conditions." His voice was cold and direct; no traces of any warmth in his tone.
The impudent man carried on as normal. He hummed in contemplation. "If it's within reason, I can accept your terms."
Jaune raised his index finger. "First, I have total control over this search." This was very important to Jaune. He had an idea about the situation, and he wanted unnecessary people or things interfering. "I answer to no one." He conveyed this with a challenging stare, daring the man to deny him.
"You will be obligated to discuss any results or leads you find, but I will ultimately leave it in your hands so long as you complete the task." Ozpin complied easily.
The concession didn't change Jaune's steely, aggressive disposition. He raised another finger. "Second, I choose how, what, and when to teach the class. My investigation will be my main priority, so I'll be using most of my time on that. This class will not be a regular thing." Jaune was not fit for the slow classroom environment. He would do things his way. This plan was entirely unreasonable in standard fashion, so why should he do things their way? Plus, he didn't think the class would yield much worth in the long run.
He lifted one more. "Which also leads me to the third and final one. I will test these first years. If they are not strong enough to survive against a demon, then I won't even bother with educating them. I will only do the extermination mission." In Jaune's mind, this was the best method to get his desired outcome. From what he saw this morning in the airship, there was no way someone capable of fighting Demons was there.
This is when the doddering headmaster finally frowned. "Glynda will not be happy with your irregular schedule, but we will see how we can make it work." He was considering it? How foolish. Did he think this could lead him to an opportunity to control him? What a farce. "As for your test, we schedule that for next week once they are situated properly." He attempted to wrap up the proceedings.
The Son of Salem wouldn't let him have his way. "No. Tomorrow." This wasn't a question. It was a simple statement of fact from him. He will do it with or without the dubious headmaster's approval.
Nonetheless, he wouldn't let it go so easily. "Tomorrow is their initiation. What do you have in mind?" He inquired.
"Anyone who reaches the objective will find myself waiting there, ready to face them." He was stronger than any Grimm or Demon. He would be a perfect final obstacle. "I understand you put them in teams to fight Grimm, but that is not the case for Demons. You know, as I do, they are much stronger than Grimm. If they cannot be able to survive against one by themselves, then they will be a lost cause." He explained. Demons were so much stronger that Devil Hunters were quickly trained to be individually stronger rather than undergo the slow growth that teamwork provided.
"Elder Grimm are hiding in the forest." He said as if that mattered.
"I will cull them before nightfall," Jaune replied. It wouldn't even be a challenge.
Ozpin countered. "They are children."
He bristled. Now, he was using this angle. If that was a concern, then why was he making first-years train to fight Demons in the first place? "I'm a professional. They'll survive."
After a few minutes of silent confrontation where their stares met with neither relenting until Ozpin sighed and sat back down. "I will agree to your conditions." Excellent, Jaune got what he needed. "However, know that there will be consequences should anything happen as a result of your actions." So, now the man was attempting to threaten him?
Jaune glared while briefly flaring his demonic power that released slight pressure in the room. An ominous aura was emanating from him. "You should also realize the consequences if you make the Son of Salem your enemy. I'll be leaving now." He swung Yamoto twice in a cross pattern. Space was torn asunder from where he sliced the air. A diamond-shaped blue rift opened that would take him to the forest. He had worthless Grimm to release his fury and wrath on.
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The doors to Bobby's Cellar opened with the jingle of a bell playing with it. Inside, were sets of wooden tables and chairs spread out and filled with people drinking and eating away the day's worries. It was cozy, had a great atmosphere, and best of all, nobody here liked to ask questions.
A man at a table whistled. "Woah. Check out that broad."
The woman that just came in was, to put it simply, gorgeous. She was tall for a female and had some long legs to prove it. Her long, black stiletto boots also helped. Those nice legs left little to the imagination thanks to her tight, bloody red shorts. She wore a black, leather belt holding a golden buckle on it. It got better. The dame had a red, long coat that reached her boots. She had an amazing, ten outta ten, figure that the tight leather coat accentuated. The sexy coat had an upturned collar with cuffs close to the elbows along with a pleasing golden pattern along the sleeves that connected in the back. Everything she had underneath was just as tight. The red, leather vest with black clasps. The form-fitting black shirt that reached the base of her neck. This femme fatale was something out of this world.
"Mighty fine lookin' ain't she." His friend agreed before taking a sip of his drink.
That kind of gal was a knockout! One who drew everyone's eyes to her and commanded everyone's attention without even trying. She didn't even glance at all the staring eyes. Her amber eyes stared ahead with purpose. She walked with confidence like nothing could stop her. Not to mention, she had some bite to her if she was in these parts. What a woman.
A pair of hands pushed their heads down from the clouds. "Keep it down, you idiots! She's bad news." The third of the gang had brought their next round before taking a seat. He shifted his eyes left and right nervously. "She's one of 'em, you know. Those strange Huntresses that are around!" He whispered dramatically.
The first guffawed loudly. "Cut the shit, Mac!"
The second joined right after. "Yeah, she don't look that tough."
The third, Mac, clutched his forehead in disbelief. "You chickenshits blind?!" He nearly shouted. His eyes went wide at his volume before Mac looked around rapidly. He lowered his voice again. "Look what she came here for. Don't ya see that monster on her back?" He subtly nudged his head.
The woman had gone straight to the bar to talk to Enzo. That was the norm since he was a fairly known broker in the area. The issue came when they saw that the job he gave her was in a black envelope, unlike the standard white. That meant the job was special. Looking closely at her back also revealed the huge long sword the pair had missed. That nasty-looking silver blade looked like trouble, especially with that skeleton-like guard giving the men shivers down their spines.
The color drained from the pairs' faces. "Motherfucker." They both cursed. They chugged the remainder of their beer. "Every time I see a looker, there's always something."
"You're telling me."
The three then lost themselves in cheap alcohol for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, her business presumably done with, the Huntress walked out of the bar without a word. The last thing the patrons saw of the raven-haired woman that night was her trailing bloody red coat.
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Hey. Not dead. Don't expect this to be a regular thing. I don't have the same motivation as I did years ago. I'll probably just be updating this story, if any, in the future. Hope you enjoyed it though! Whenever I get around to it will be Cinder's side next.